The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, a Senate committee approves legislation to strengthen the Freedom of Information Act, Homeland Security officials are starting to warn about the consequences of a lapse in funding and the Postal Service sees a 4.3 percent boost in revenue in the first quarter of fiscal 2015.

The Army's been working for the past several years on a more "comprehensive" approach to fitness, instead of one that measures how many pushups a soldier can do or how quickly he can run a mile. But when it comes to the overall health of the force, the Army's surgeon general says her biggest concern is how much sleep they're getting. It's not enough. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu writes about it in this week's edition of Inside the DoD Reporter's Notebook.

A unique group of federal employees has its own retirement plan that isn't part of the Civil Service Retirement System or the Federal Employee Retirement System. They're covered by a plan called the CSRS Offset plan. Tammy Flanagan is Senior Benefits Director for the National Institute of Transition Planning. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she explained how that system works and why it's easy to overlook.

Trey Hodgkins, senior vice president for Public Sector at the Information Technology Alliance for Public Sector at the Information Technology Industry Council, and Rafael Borras, senior adviser at A.T. Kearney, count down the week's top stories with Francis Rose.

The Internal Revenue Service is making progress with controls over its purchase card program. The agency has implemented almost all the recommendations the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has made. But there are still some loose ends to tie up. Greg Kutz is assistant inspector general for audit -- management services and exempt organizations -- at TIGTA. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said 14 examples of misuse turned up in a review, but that's a small fraction of the overall use of purchase cards.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, five female officers completed the latest Army prep course for Ranger School, the White House names a long time industry technologist as the next federal chief information officer and Senate Democrats block a Republican bid to fund the Homeland Security Department for the third day in a row.

The Social Security Administration is shedding its reputation as an agency stuck in the 1980s when it comes to IT. SSA cobbled together a few leftover computers and took advantage of an open source platform to develop a new approach to conquering its big data problem. Ann Am-Rhein is SSA's deputy associate commissioner for the Office of Earning, Enumeration and Administrative systems. Ron Sikes is SSA's director of business intelligence and analytics. They tell Federal News Radio Executive Editor Jason Miller why their new approach earned honors in the Igniting Innovation awards.

The Army is planning a significant technical overhaul of the way its headquarters staff commands and controls the missions of soldiers in the field. As Federal News Radio's DoD Reporter Jared Serbu reports, the next time an division of soldiers goes into combat, a good chunk of them might be telecommuting.

The General Services Administration and MITRE are modernizing the GSA schedules program. They've asked a number of stakeholders to look at questions they want to ask industry to determine how to move ahead. Roger Waldron is the President of the Coalition for Government Procurement. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said GSA's effort is welcome -- and overdue.

A hacker group called Lizard Squad finds a backdoor into federal computer networks. It's leveraging university supercomputers that also have access to government data. Jonathan Katz is director of the Maryland Cybersecurity Center at the University of Maryland. On In Depth with Francis Rose, be broke down the different ways hackers like Lizard Squad can penetrate your agency's network.

President Barack Obama's FY 2016 budget request includes $15 million for cross agency goals. The administration wants to provide an infrastructure for hitting the goals to go with the personnel it's already committed. Steve Kelman is professor of public management at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he said using data to hit the goals is a great priority to have for the last two years of the Obama administration.

You can learn a very important lesson from former Secretaries of State that could make or break your company's government business portfolion. But it doesn't have anything to do with foreign policy. That's according to Larry Allen -- he's president of Allen Federal and author of the Week Ahead newsletter. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained what you can learn from diplomats.

The Veterans Health Administration wants to reinvent how it pays its doctors. To do that, it's modernizing its health care system in a data-driven way. Mark Byers is CEO of DSS Inc. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained ways data can reinvent and improve health care for the federal government.

The Federal Headlines is a daily compilation of the stories you hear discussed on Federal News Radio each day. It is designed to give FederalNewsRadio.com readers more information about the stories heard on the radio. In today's news, Defense Secretary nominee Ash Carter finally gets to Capitol Hill for questioning by the Senate Armed Services Committee, funding for the Homeland Security Department remains held up in the Senate and IRS commissioner John Koskinen tells senators the proposed 2016 budget will help the agency restore service that's been curtailed under its current funding level.

Ashton Carter said there's more cost-cutting to do at the Defense Department. He promised to end cost overruns in weapons systems and create a leaner Pentagon if the Senate confirms him. Federal News Radio DoD Reporter Jared Serbu has the details.

The Office of Naval Research has an update to its strategic plan and a new chief to help to put those priorities in place. Rear Adm. Mat Winter, the new chief of Naval Research, has been on the job for about four weeks. Federal News Radio's Lauren Larson spoke to the new ONR chief at the Naval Future Force Science and Technology expo. He tells her what ONR looks for when updating its strategic plan.

The recent surge of cross-agency goals under the Obama Administration is leading to a new way to pay for them. The White House budget plan for 2016 asks Congress to let the Office of Management and Budget transfer money to help agencies with governmentwide goals. Dan Chenok is executive director of the IBM Center for the Business of Government. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he explained how ideas like these will ever come to pass if they're in a White House budget plan.

Defense Secretary nominee Ash Carter says ending sequestration is critical for the Pentagon's long-term success. But in his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services committee today, he said defense spending reform is just as large a priority for him. Katherine Kidder is research associate for the Military, Veterans and Society Program at the Center for a New American Security. On In Depth with Francis Rose, she offered priorities for the next Defense Secretary's reform agenda.

Defense Secretary nominee Ash Carter called on Congress to figure out a way to move on from sequestration. In his nomination hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee today, he said failure to do that will have a dangerous impact on the future of the Defense Department. Shawn Brimley is executive vice president and director of studies at the Center for a New American Security. On In Depth with Francis Rose, he outlined a strategy for the next SecDef's tenure.

The General Services Administration's 18F has more business than it can handle. The special software development team has agreements with about 17 agencies. That's bringing in a constant stream of work. That demand for development is driving a new blanket purchase agreement (BPA) for agile development services. It needs to offer alternative sources for agencies needing fast turnaround applications. Greg Godbout is the executive director of 18F. On the Federal Drive with Tom Temin, he tells executive editor Jason Miller about plans to get the BPA up and running in the coming year.